


every little thing he does

by manzini (writtendlessly)



Series: manzini's TWI-verse [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), M/M, Magnus' magic has a mind of it's own, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Pre-Magic Reveal, Warlock Magnus Bane, and thats to love alec, but ultimately it knows what magnus wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 02:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20734901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtendlessly/pseuds/manzini
Summary: Five times Magnus' magic does something for Alec without his control (and without Alec knowing) + one time he does it on purpose





	every little thing he does

"Alexander, I'm telling you it's fine."

"And _I'm_ telling _you_ that it's not," Alec looks down at him with what can only be described as a petulant expression. His arms are crossed, and his imposing form is blocking Magnus. "It's late, and New York is dangerous."

Magnus only just manages to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "I can take care of myself."

Alec's expression turns from childish pouting to something more serious and Magnus has to look away from the intensity. Alec has spent the majority of their date shamelessly flirting or staring at Magnus with a sort of dopey, awed look on his face. Under the dim lighting of the Italian restaurant Alec picked out, it was manageable. 

But now they're outside, the streetlights acting like overhead spotlights to their two-man act of 'unstoppable force and immovable object'. Alec's desire to walk him home like a true gentleman versus Magnus' hope of finding an empty alley, portaling home, and making it to bed before ten. 

Magnus takes a deep breath and reminds himself he's a powerful warlock, and mundanes shouldn't make him so nervous. He reaches for Alec's hand. 

"You don't need to protect me, I swear," Magnus smiles and takes a step forward, closer to Alec. Alec's expression hasn't changed and Magnus braces himself for whatever angry or annoyed comment is coming. He was always walking the line between_ too much_ and _not enough_ and could never find the right balance.

"But I want to," Alec replies. There's no hesitation, no mumbled words. In the short time that he's known Alec Lightwood, Magnus knows that he says what he means and he means what he says. "If you don't want me to, that's fine... But I want to protect you."

Something in Magnus goes ice cold and burning hot at the same time, and he unconsciously squeezes Alec's hand. It isn't until Alec squeezes back that Magnus stutters out a soft, "Okay."

Alec's entire demeanor changes after he's given permission. His shoulders relax, and a grin makes its way across his face as he starts tugging gently on Magnus' arm, leading him away from the restaurant. 

"Okay?" Alec asks, once more to be certain.

"Okay."

Magnus hopes that Alec can't feel the way his heart is racing from their joined hands.

About a block away from Magnus' apartment, a noise comes out from the alley they're walking by. Magnus' heart stops for a second, thinking _demondemondemon_ before his brain catches up and he remembers _rats_. 

Later, he'll blame it on the way Alec's fingers felt interlocked with his, but he's distracted enough that he moves when Alec pushes Magnus behind him. In front of them there's a mugger, dressed in predictable all-black and weilding a knife. 

Magnus can feel his magic surging up, uncontrollable, and he's already thinking about how he's going to perform the memory removal spell when Alec moves. Alec shoves Magnus back further and he watches in horror as Alec winds up for a punch, seemingly in slow motion.

Before Magnus can stop it, his magic reaches his hands at the same moment as Alec's fist connects with the mugger's jaw. The man drops like a sack of potatoes, out cold before he even hits the ground. 

Alec stands still, his arm still raised, and says, "Holy shit."

Magnus stays behind him, desperately trying to rein his magic back in and hoping that the light of the neon signs hides the blue glow surrounding his hands.

Alec laughs, slightly hysterical, and loudly repeats himself. "Holy shit!"

He turns back to face Magnus and Magnus crosses his arms over his chest, tucking his hands into his sweater in an attempt to hide them. Alec's glee softens at the action, misinterpreting the movement as fear from Magnus.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alec puts one big hand against Magnus' neck, his thumb rubbing underneath the edge of Magnus' jaw. Magnus feels his magic flare up again, thankfully contained within him, but for a totally different reason this time. 

Magnus nods, and Alec continues, "I'm sorry if I scared you or if I— If I hurt you."

Magnus thinks about the force with which Alec pushed him back, the almost superhuman speed of Alec's fist.

"I'm not usually," Alec trails off and gestures loosely with his free hand. "Something just came over me. I've never knocked a guy out like that before."

Magnus' eyes flick over to the mugger's unmoving body and thinks, _That's because it wasn't you who knocked him out_. Instead he just says, "It's okay."

"See? I _told_ you New York is dangerous."

Magnus rolls his eyes, watches fondly as Alec calls emergency services for the guy, then lets Alec walk him three blocks in the wrong direction just to prolong their night. By the time they make it to Magnus' front door, it's well past ten and Magnus feels both light as air at the way Alec kisses him goodnight, and like there's a heavy weight on his chest at the way his magic is acting. 

Even after imbuing Alec with super strength, his magic couldn't resist dancing along his fingertips and sending little sparks Alec's way during their walk home. Magnus is pretty sure Alec thinks that Magnus pinched his butt a few times, but he can't be embarrassed in the face of the even bigger problem coming his way. He's going to have to call Ragnor about this. 

—

They're an hour into the movie Alec had suggested when Magnus feels him shift for what had to be the twentieth time. (It was the seventeenth, not that Magnus was counting.) Alec had settled his arm around Magnus' shoulder as soon as he sat down, a bowl of popcorn in hand, and hadn't moved since. Except, of course, to shift around awkwardly and shoot glances at the entryway. 

Magnus knew that inviting Alec to his messy, eclectic home was a bad decision. It was only their sixth date but something in Magnus had been eager to get Alec in his home. Not for _that_ reason—not yet—but out of some short-sighted desire to reveal more of himself to Alec. Over the course of the last month, Magnus has learned innumerable details about Alec through his stories and jokes. Magnus himself was mostly quiet, content to listen to the other man and scared about revealing too much. 

But after another frustrating conversation with Ragnor he had decided, somewhat fearfully, to really commit to making this work. And that started with sharing more personal details about himself. What could be more personal than his own home?

Apparently _too_ personal, however, with how clearly Alec seemed to want to leave.

"You can," Magnus starts, but the sentence gets caught in his throat. He always had trouble expressing himself when his emotions were high. He didn't _want_ to say this, but he must. "You can leave if you want, you don't have to stay."

Alec shifts back, further into the corner of the couch and away from Magnus, and Magnus' heart sinks.

"What are you talking about?" He asks, trying to turn Magnus to look at him. Magnus stares down at his hands.

"You keep looking at the door," Magnus explains. "There's still another hour left of the movie, you don't have to wait until the end to leave."

"You think I want to leave?" Alec laughs and Magnus chances a look at him, surprised to see no malice or even relief on the other man's face. "No, Magnus, _god_. That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm just," Alec's hand rubs against the opposite arm's bicep. "I'm _really_ cold. It's fucking freezing in here."

Magnus pauses, fully turning to look at Alec now. He stares for a moment and Alec continues, rambling on when Magnus doesn't say anything.

"I absolutely want to be here, Magnus, please understand that. But I left my jacket by the door and there's no blankets in here—not even in that old crate full of stuff—and you gave me _iced tea_ and—"

Magnus lifts his hand and Alec shuts up. He briefly feels the panic of knowing Alec looked in one of his boxes of magical artifacts, before suppressing it and standing up. Alec frowns at him, reaching out with the arm that used to be wrapped around Magnus' shoulders.

"Hey, come back, I promise I'm not trying to bail."

Magnus smiles at his grabby hands, and Alec does that thing where his entire face softens and he looks at Magnus like he hung the moon. It makes Magnus feel too many emotions at once, so he stumbles off in the direction of his bedroom, face turning red.

"I'm gonna— _Blanket_."

Magnus makes it to his room with only minimal laughter from Alec following after him. Magnus looks down at his bed, bare except for his two pillows and a single sheet across it. Ever since his magic returned he felt boiling hot at all times, especially when sleeping. At some point he must've banished his blanket in the middle of the night, so he conjures up a new one from the homegoods store a few blocks away. 

When he returns to the living room, the movie is paused and Alec is wearing his jacket again. Magnus settles on the couch next to him, much closer than he had sat the first time, and covers both of them in the blanket. Alec wraps an arm around his waist this time and says a soft, "Thanks," directly into his ear. Magnus shivers and Alec wraps around him tighter. 

The next time Alec comes over he thanks Magnus for turning up the heat, even though Magnus hasn't touched his thermostat in months. The heat of his magic was still going strong, though a little less like lava and closer to warm tea these days. Often, Magnus finds himself opening the windows despite the autumn chill and he's pretty sure they are _still _open. 

Regardless, Alec leaves his shoes and jacket at the door, moving around the apartment like it's his own and leaving a lingering kiss on Magnus' lips as he walks past him.

Magnus buys a thermometer after the fifth time Alec comments on the perfect temperature of his apartment. Whether the loft is at 50 degrees or 80, Alec is always comfortable. Though if he pretends to be cold as an excuse to cuddle under a blanket, well, that's his little secret.

—

"Alec— _Alexander_."

Magnus can feel the way Alec's lips curve into a smile against his collarbone. Magnus had been trying, and failing thus far, to hold back his needy noises as Alec thoroughly takes him apart with just his mouth.

Alec trails a hand down the outside of Magnus' thigh, then back up, then down the inside again. Magnus arches against the bed, inadvertently pushing his chest up towards Alec. Alec's hand settles on his inner thigh and Magnus can feel the heat of it even through his pants. Alec squeezes gently at the same time as his tongue flicks across a nipple.

Magnus cries out, squeezing his hands into fists to control his magic. 

"Alexander, _please_."

Alec chuckles, his voice low and dark, "So desperate already, hmm?"

Magnus nods, not trusting himself to respond verbally. Alec shifts to the side in a way that tells Magnus he's reaching for the drawer of his nightstand. Just the thought of Alec's fingers closing around the bottle he has stashed there has Magnus squirming and pushing his hips up. But Alec's hand is still wrapped tightly around his thigh and Magnus can't _move_. 

Alec's hand squeezes harder this time and Magnus thinks of _controlpowerropeloveprotect_. Alec moves back a little more to reach blindly into the drawer and he suddenly freezes. Magnus freezes too, forcing himself to meet Alec's eyes even if it makes him blush.

Alec looks shocked, for a second, then he grins in a way that makes Magnus feel like prey.

"Well, well," Alec says and he moves off of Magnus fully, settling back into a kneeling position and towering over Magnus' prone form. In his hands are a pair of obnoxious, pink-fur-lined handcuffs. "Look what I found!"

Alec spins them around his finger and continues, "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Magnus wants to deny it, wants to pretend they're left over from an ex or a gag gift from Cat, but more than anything he wants _Alec_. In a rare moment of bravery, he silently lifts his arms and settles them, wrists crossed, above his head. 

The way Alec's eyes flash, a mix of lust and love and pure adoration, manages to make Magnus forget that there was never any handcuffs in that drawer twenty minutes ago. 

—

Alexander: thanks again for the mug bb ❤️

9:46AM

Alexander: and the coffee ❤️

9:46AM

Alexander: and ur cute face ❤️

9:47AM

Magnus: You're welcome, Alexander. 

9:48AM

Alexander: miss u 😘[photo attached] 

12:04PM

Alexander: cant believe this coffee is still hot [photo attached]

12:06PM

Magnus: The meeting will go well and you'll get the deal. Stop stressing.

12:07PM

Alexander: who says im stressing??? 👀[photo attached]

12:07PM

Magnus: You've sent me three photos in the last 10 minutes. 

12:07PM

Alexander: alright, maybe im stressing a bit 

12:08PM

Magnus: Don't worry, you got this.

12:08PM

Magnus: ...babe 😸

12:08PM

Alexander: !!!!!!!! "babe"!!!! the emoji!!!!! im the luckiest man alive!!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

12:12PM

Magnus: 😳

12:13PM

Alexander: i had to buy a new coffee 😭

6:09PM

Alexander: but seriously where did u get this mug it keeps drinks hot ALL DAY

6:10PM

Magnus: Just the drugstore near my apartment. And coffee at this hour? You'll never sleep.

6:11PM

Alexander: am i coming over after work??

6:11PM

Magnus: If you still want to...

6:13PM

Alexander: then i dont need to sleep 😉💦🍆

6:14PM

Magnus: Alexander!!

6:14PM

When Magnus sneaks out of his bedroom that night to grab some water and finish off the potion he'd left in stasis, he spots Alec's travel mug sitting innocently on his kitchen counter. Magnus wasn't lying about where he got it; he picked it up from a drugstore the last time he'd been out because the brown-green color reminded him of Alec. For all intents and purposes it's a normal mug. It's a lot larger than your average coffee mug but still, _normal_. 

With a distinctly _not_ normal magical energy field surrounding it. Magnus checks, even though he knows the answer, and yep—that's his magical signature all right. He hopes there aren't any secret warlocks at Alec's job, because carrying that mug around is basically the same as wearing a t-shirt that says PROPERTY OF MAGNUS.

He was half-asleep when he pulled it out of his cupboard and dumped the coffee pot into it, but he does remember thinking about Alec as he did it. He was thinking about his pretty face, the way Magnus feels safe when Alec presses his chest against Magnus' back, how he hoped Alec had a good day and felt well-rested. 

Magnus contemplates turning it back into a normal mug, but in the end he doesn't. Instead, he tiptoes back to his bedroom, slides in next to Alec and decides to trust his magic this time. 

—

Only a few weeks after Alec's day of meetings, Magnus finds himself dressed in his best suit, watching Alec pace around his living room. Alec is also in a suit, although he abandoned his jacket around the same time the nerves hit him. Magnus tries to be sympathetic, but the way Alec's vest emphasizes his waist and broad chest is extremely distracting. 

Magnus had his own bout of nerves before Alec showed up. Tonight is the first time Alec will be using his +1 to bring Magnus to an event, and the first time Magnus will meet any of Alec's co-workers. They've had sex dozens of times and said "I love you" even more than that, but somehow this still feels like a big step for them.

At least it's an LGBTQ charity event, so that's one hurdle already dealt with.

"I should call the caterer," Alec rambles, unaware or maybe just uncaring that Magnus had been mostly tuning him out. "I just _know_ the empanadillas are soggy."

Alec completes another lap around the coffee table, and he stops to absentmindedly tug at his clothes. 

"I reviewed the playlists but I didn't have time to finalize them so I had Lydia do it. She has godawful taste in music, _why_ did I let her do that?"

Alec makes another round.

"And then I seated the mayor at the same table as the Morgensterns, like a fucking _idiot_."

Alec stops pacing again, this time running a hand through his hair and messing up the styling he spent thirty minutes on. Magnus takes that as his cue and stands up. He has to stand on his toes to fix Alec's hair, but it's worth it for the way Alec smiles and holds his waist to stabilize him.

"You have to relax," Magnus says, moving on from fixing Alec's hair to adjusting his tie and smoothing his shirt down. "Everything will be okay."

"This is just so _important_, Magnus," Alec explains, as if he hasn't already said this a hundred times before. "This is the biggest event I've ever done and—"

"I know, dear."

"—If the guests aren't happy, they won't donate. And the money is going to queer homeless shelters, so—"

"_Alexander_," Magnus cups Alec's face in his hands, forcing Alec to look him in the eyes. "Darling, I _know_. You've spent months planning this, down to every last detail. The work you and your team do is impeccable. It will be perfect."

Alec takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, some of the tension in his shoulders easing, "You're right."

"I usually am," Magnus replies. He steps away from Alec for a moment to retrieve his jacket. "Come on, the Uber should be here soon."

Alec pouts at him, but the expression is more playful than anything upset. 

"I should've went to the tailor again last week," Alec complains, dutifully turning around so that Magnus can help put the jacket on him. "I've been stress-lifting and now my shoulders are bigger than they used to be."

Magnus thinks about his own suit, magically altered just that morning to fit him perfectly. He imagines birds and mice swirling around him with strips of fabric like in the old Disney movies he watches with Alec. When Alec turns around, he's frowning down at himself. 

"Huh," Alec does his jacket buttons up and moves his arms around randomly. "I could've sworn this didn't fit right this morning."

Magnus responds by gripping his lapels and pulling him down into a kiss, suddenly overwhelmed by his handsomeness. Alec forgets all about his previous concerns and grins against Magnus' mouth. 

They're only ten minutes late for their Uber.

—

Magnus thought he knew what happiness was.

He felt it when the demons were defeated and the rifts between the different planes were sealed. He felt it whenever he spent long nights with Ragnor, Catarina and Raphael, the three of them sharing stories and jokes until the morning. He felt it when his magic came back, and then again that same day when he met Alec Lightwood.

And since that day he's felt not just happiness but passion, fear, love, satisfaction, pleasure, anxiety, safety. Yet nothing could compare to the soul-deep euphoria he feels in this moment, staring down at the love of his life as he kneels before Magnus.

"On the day we first met, I knew you were different. I'd never felt like that before—a sort of desperate desire to see you again."

Magnus feels it running through his veins, burrowing into his heart, seeping out through his pores.

"Everything I learned made me want to learn _more_. I couldn't tell you when I fell in love because it wasn't an instant moment. I fell in love with you more and more every second we spent together."

Tears well up, spilling over without his control. At some point his hands start shaking and they don't stop even when he squeezes them together in his lap. 

"I love your smile, your kindness, your nose, your laugh, your intelligence."

Alec grabs Magnus' left hand with his right, and reaches into the pocket of his pants.

"I love your eyes, both the glamor and your real ones. I love your potions and portals. I love your magic, which is to say I love _you_. Every part."

Magnus' breath gets caught in his throat and Alec lets go of his hand to open the velvet box he pulled out.

"Magnus Bane, will you marry me?"

Magnus watches Alec for a few seconds, trying to commit this image to memory so that he'll never lose it. Alec looks back, grinning and teary eyed, not an ounce of hesitation in his gaze. Magnus doesn't look away as he waves his hand and another velvet box materializes on his lap. 

"Only if you'll marry me too," Magnus says inanely, somehow smiling even larger when Alec laughs at him.

"Is that a yes?" He asks and Magnus launches himself forward before he can fully finish his question.

Alec drops the box in his effort to catch Magnus, and Magnus dropped his own box when he fell to his knees to meet Alec on the floor of their balcony. Their kisses are sloppy—too forceful, full of tears, the two of them breaking away to laugh and say "yes" in every language they know. Magnus feels his magic swelling, heating the surface of his skin and making him feel like he could burst. 

"Let go," Alec whispers against his lips. 

Magnus does, and the entire borough of Brooklyn is lit up with fireworks in blue and gold. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Magnus discord, my twitter friends and my dope playlists for making this one possible. Feel free to hit me up @manziniyo :)


End file.
